Kendal Briles has spent enough time building explosive offenses across the sport’s biggest leagues to make him a natural name in Nebraska’s search for an offensive coordinator.
For Matt Rhule, the appeal starts with experience. Briles has been calling plays for more than a decade in the SEC, ACC and Big 12, and there are not many coaches with that kind of résumé. He first made his mark at Baylor working under his father, Art Briles, where he helped shape the Bears’ fast-paced spread attack before taking over as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2015.
Since then, his stops have stacked up quickly: Florida Atlantic, Houston, Florida State, Arkansas, TCU and now South Carolina, where Shane Beamer hired him last December.
The production has followed him everywhere. Baylor led the nation in scoring in 2015 at 48.1 points per game and in total offense at 616.2 yards per game. Corey Coleman starred in that attack, winning the Biletnikoff Award before becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick.
At Florida Atlantic in 2017, Briles helped guide the Owls to a Conference USA championship while they averaged 40.6 points and 498.4 yards per game, good for eighth and ninth nationally. Devin Singletary piled up 1,920 rushing yards and 32 rushing touchdowns and was named Conference USA MVP.
Then came Houston in 2018, where D’Eriq King put up 50 touchdowns in 11 games, throwing 36 and running for 14. That kind of output is part of what makes Briles’ offense so attractive.
His version of the veer-and-shoot leans on wide receiver splits, tempo, vertical passing and RPOs that force defenses into bad choices. The spacing also opens up the run game, and Briles has shown it can work against SEC defenses.
Arkansas proved that. His offenses finished seventh nationally in rushing in back-to-back seasons, averaging 227.8 yards per game in 2021 and 236.5 in 2022.
That 2022 team also ranked 15th nationally in total offense at 471.2 yards per game. Raheim Sanders earned Associated Press first-team All-SEC honors, while center Ricky Stromberg picked up first-team all-conference recognition and won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
Briles’ TCU run showed another layer of the system. The Horned Frogs finished in the nation’s top 10 in passing offense in each of his three seasons. Josh Hoover set a school record with 3,949 passing yards in 2024, and Jared Wiley earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2023.
His first season at South Carolina has been balanced as well. The Gamecocks are scoring 34.7 points per game, which ranks 24th nationally, and averaging 452.6 total yards, good for 21st. They’re also putting up 205.4 rushing yards per game, ranking 20th, and 247.1 passing yards per game, which ranks 41st.
Briles has also worked with a wide range of quarterbacks, from mobile players like King and Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson to more traditional passers such as Hoover.
The question is not whether he fits. It’s what it would take to get him.
South Carolina signed Briles to a three-year, $6.3 million contract that pays him $2 million this season, $2.1 million in 2027 and $2.2 million in 2028. That is well above what Nebraska paid Dana Holgorsen, and the deal includes language tied to an early exit. Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen would have to spend serious money to pull him away from Columbia, and that would mean betting big that the move would not be a one-year fix if Rhule does not get Nebraska to the playoffs in 2027 and the two sides part ways.
Even with those complications, Briles should not be brushed aside. Since leaving Baylor after the 2016 season, he has worked at six schools in 10 seasons, including one-year stops at Florida Atlantic, Houston and Florida State before landing at Arkansas in 2020. He spent three seasons with the Razorbacks, then three more at TCU before heading back to the SEC with South Carolina this year.
That kind of track record says he is willing to move when the right opportunity comes along. He is already running an SEC offense, has real control over his system and ranks among the highest-paid offensive coordinators in the country, but that does not make him untouchable.
Given the uncertainty around Rhule’s future, landing Briles would be difficult. Still, his history suggests Nebraska should at least find out. Why not make him say no?
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